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=The Mpowerment Project is a model HIV prevention program that has been specifically designed to address the needs of young gay and bisexual men. Read about the newest adaptations to MP to address HIV prevention for men living with HIV and the use of PrEP, in what we are calling MP+. Learn how the Mpowerment Project fits into the National HIV/AIDS Strategy here (pdf), find out more about the Project, or read some of the research papers on the Project's effectiveness.

This research will evaluate how high-risk clusters and current prevention strategies affect HIV transmission patterns. There are a number of potential drivers of the epidemic, including substance use, undiagnosed infections and high number of sexual partners. However, it still remains unclear which drivers contribute to the epidemic with HIV transmission as the biological outcome. The study aims to characterize HIV clusters and correlates associated with transmission. Phylogenetic analysis will be performed to assess transmission clusters. Qualitative interviews will be conducted to describe the psychosocial and behavioral contexts associated with transmission.

We sponsor four types of training: 1. An intensive eight-week course in designing and conducting AIDS prevention research In our prevention research course, trainees develop a study protocol for implementation in their home countries. Subsequently, we provide assistance to obtain funding to field these pilot studies, and provide continued technical assistance from a CAPS faculty mentor. 2. A six-week writing sabbatical/scientific manuscript preparation workshop Scientists who complete data collection can return to CAPS for a scientific writing workshop, in which we provide statistical support and faculty consultation for preparation of a scientific manuscript. In some cases, we also allow for individual writing sabbaticals; trainees receive similar support and consultation. The scientific writing workshop is open both to returning scholars who attended our research methods courses, and to other international collaborators who are ready to complete scientific manuscripts. 3. A nine-month advanced research traineeship In our advanced research traineeship, visiting scientists prepare grant proposals for the US National Institutes of Health, on which the trainee is the principal investigator. 4. Formal graduate study We also serve as a “portal of entry” for the AIDS International Research and Training Program at UC Berkeley for MPH and PhD degrees in epidemiology (Arthur Reingold, PI).

The purpose of this project is to (1) provide expanded mentoring of early career clinician- researchers in patient oriented research (POR), and (2) extend his current research program to the study of patient-provider dyads, which will be studied through the integration of research tools into electronic health records (EHR) systems. Dr. Johnson's trainees have emerged as research clinicians interested in conducting POR. There is a critical need for a better understanding of how the patient-provider relationship influences health outcomes and how these relationships can be augmented to improve outcomes. Much of the existing research on this topic is limited to a single perspective of the patient-provider relationship, but seldom do studies attempt to understand the relationship and its implications simultaneously from the patients and providers. Understanding how to measure and analyze the relationship from these two sides is a critical step in developing an effective model for interventions. Further, it is clear that medical informatics will become an increasingly central base of healthcare delivery in the United States and developing world. The proposed research emphasizes the contextual role of EHRs and other technologies (such as email, patient access to online information portals, etc) on the patient-provider dyads, with an emphasis on decisional balance preferences. Therefore, the candidate seeks to bridge these areas through gaining expertise in medical informatics, provider relations, dyadic data analysis, and international collaborative research to remain on the cutting edge of this rapidly evolving field. The K24 support would insure sufficient time to pursue this natural progression of his research while protecting time to devote to mentoring future clinician investigators in POR. The plans for development, research, and mentoring were designed to complement each other and to create a synergistic effect of mentoring and research in a new direction of POR. The proposed mentoring, research, and career development activities actively leverage existing infrastructure, resources and training initiatives provided by NIH, including the candidate's active research program, the Center for AIDS Prevention Studies (CAPS), the Center for AIDS Research (CFAR), and the Clinical and Translational Science Institute (CTSI) at UCSF.

This project is an extension of the International Traineeships in AIDS Prevention Studies Program (I-TAPS) through a partnership with the Centro de Estudos de AIDS do Rio Grande do Sul (CEARGS) in Porto Alegre, Brazil and with the Universidade Federale do Bahia (UFBA) in Salvador, and funded by the Fogarty International Center. It is aimed at training Brazilian scientists, as well as scientists from other lusophone countries, in AIDS prevention research, with a focus on epidemiological and behavioral studies. In-country training at CEARGS and UFBA are conducted in Portuguese. Our Brazilian collaborators work in conjunction with the Brazilian Ministry of Health, UNAIDS, CDC, and other partners to identify trainees from all across Brazil. The main goal is to provide self-sufficiency for research scientists, capable of designing and implementing AIDS prevention research, independently or in collaboration with US investigators. This project began in 2001 and was renewed for 2006-2011. In the first funding cycle, training of Brazilian scientists was supported both at CAPS and in Brazil. In the current funding cycle, we continue to recruit and support Brazilian scientists at CAPS, but supported through other sources. We also have had two Brazilian scientists join us at CAPS as advanced research trainees, preparing grant applications to the NIH on which the trainee is the principal investigator. Our primary focus of our ICOHRTA funding is on in-country training, and an expansion of this training to reach scientists in previously underserved parts of the country. At CEARGS in Porto Alegre in the south of Brazil, 168 Brazilian scientists have been trained since 2002 in several short courses on clinical research methods, basic epidemiology, data management and analysis, and scientific writing. A distance learning component was added at the end of 2005, enabling scientists from all over Brazil to attend the basic clinical research methods trainings through teleconferencing, and a distance learning scientific writing module is also under development. In the current funding cycle, a second training site, in addition to CEARGS, has been established at UFBA, in order to attract scientists from the north and northeast of Brazil. The first training course at UFBA in research methods took place in the fall of 2007 and trained 16 scientists from the region. Several of these scientists are in the process of fielding pilot research projects developed at this training.